Christchurch earthquakes; Gelsemium to the rescue

by David Quinn

Christchurch was struck by an earthquake on the 4th
September last year (2010) and by a second one on the 22nd of
February, plus thousands of aftershocks. Many people in Christchurch have reached
a state where each significant after-shock is very distressing and upsetting.

Approximately five weeks ago, on the 19th of May,
I began to feels pains in my lower back and I was noticeably restricted in my
movements. The next day I could hardly move; when I tried to move there was
tightness, shooting pains and spasms. The problem seemed to be mostly muscular
with a bit of trouble to the nerves, but not in the spine. I suspected a viral
or bacterial infection even though I have not experienced muscular pain like
this before; when I am unwell it is always a ‘flu-like condition, a headache
and soreness all over. I also began to realise that I had been experiencing a
very low level of discomfort and slight restriction in movement in my lower
back for months. The next night I had a memorable dream: my nephew had found a
crocodile and somehow I was assigned the job of looking after it. I spent the
whole night dealing with one shocking and frightening event after the next. The
next morning my back was still as painful, if not worse, than the day before.
The dream made me think of Gelsemium; because of the characteristic effect on
the muscles in my lower back I took a dose of Gelsemium 1M. Over the next few
days the pain in my back steadily improved. After two days I took another dose
of the same potency. As my back continued to improve, the sense of unwellness
became a typical ‘flu-like illness; I felt weak and sick and had a mild,
non-descript headache. I took another dose of Gelsemium, and every morning I
felt better. Within the space of a week I was feeling well and my back pain had
cleared up completely. It seemed that quite a severe illness, which may have
become protracted, had turned into something far more simple, for which I
hardly had to go to bed.

On reflection, I remember having had a feeling of tightness
and restriction in my back for months. It may also be significant that two days
before the onset of the severe pains I was driving home and saw that the River
Avon (which runs through Christchurch) was very high and was spilling over onto
the roads. This was happening because of extra high lunar tides combined with
the fact that parts of Christchurch had undergone extensive damage and had sunk.
The river Avon spilling over onto the streets is a very frightening thing and
driving past, it looked so high and vast, like the sea.

A few days later a friend said that she felt she was getting
the ‘flu: her eyes felt heavy and her mouth felt dry. She said that everything
felt heavy, especially her legs. From these symptoms I thought of Gelsemium.
The next day she was getting bad pains in her left side, pains she had
experienced since the first Earthquake in September. After she described the
pains I suspected that they were muscular and I recommended a dose of Gelsemium
1M. Like me, she steadily improved over the next few days. She said that her
pains “surprisingly” seemed to disappear while some ‘flu-like symptoms of weakness
and sickness remained for a few days. I repeated the dose after two days, and after
feeling very tired and sleeping deeply, she steadily began to improve. She said
that in the past few months since the earthquakes she had been developing a
number of worrying afflictions. Her doctor was worried about the pain in her
left side and suspected a blood clot in her lungs, but tests showed nothing but
a slight infection. At this stage he suspected pleurisy. In addition to this,
an ankle which has suffered from several twists in the past became very
painful, making walking difficult. After taking the remedy the pain in her side
disappeared and the pain in her ankle reduced dramatically. Since taking the
remedy she had been dreaming about things related to the earthquakes. She had
flashbacks and frightening feelings about the first quake, which had violently
woken everyone in the early hours while they were sleeping. Whenever she gets
the ‘flu, she always experiences chest complications afterwards, but after taking
the remedy she experienced no complications at all. For the past few months she
had been experiencing a strange kind of sighing as she exhaled and this
completely disappeared as well. This ‘sighing respiration’ is a characteristic
symptom of Gelsemium. Another two powerful earthquakes stuck Christchurch on
Monday 13th of this month. The pains in her left side returned
during the night and were so bad she could hardly move. I repeated Gelsemium 1M
and she also took a painkiller. Her symptoms again disappeared in the course of
the next day.

Gelsemium is a remedy which belongs to the Loganiaceae family
of plants. It is a well known remedy for flu-like illnesses with symptoms of
heaviness, paralysis, spasms. It has a specific affinity for the muscles. It has
the characteristic sensation of a dry mouth, though the mouth is in fact not as
dry as it feels. The central feeling of this family of remedies is that of
having undergone something shocking and upsetting. Gelsemium is specifically
for the feeling of a ‘fearful’ (Gelsemium) shock (Loganiaceae). In this
instance Gelsemium seems to have alleviated some quite severe symptoms of pain
and discomfort in an effective and gentle way.

Photos: Wikimedia CommonsAftermath of September 4th Earthquake in Christchurch, NZ; Marin LuffThe Medway Bridge as seen from the true left of the Avon River; Schewde66

addition of remedies after maladiesReply #5 on : Wed August 24, 2011, 11:27:08

The article gives new direction of using Gelsemium in maladies but I have successfully used the remedy ACID PHOS for such situation & Ignatia for chronic cases

Last Edit: September 01, 2011, 09:07:03 by mache

Posts: 5

Re:Reply #4 on : Mon July 04, 2011, 12:25:50

Yes i agree. Earthquakes are a shocking suprising fearful thing and this is consistent with Gelsemium. I just saw yesterday that Gelsemium is the only remedy and is marked as a three in the symptom "Shivering from fear" in the Synthetic Repertory.

Posts: 5

Christchurch earthquakesReply #3 on : Sat July 02, 2011, 22:32:39

Interesting read,
Vermeullen writes " Anticipation, paralyzed and heavy from fear and fright, lack of will power and muscles refuse to obey the will" with Gel. conditions come on slowly and patient becomes weaker and weaker...a good earthquake prescription for ones stress due to the many aftershocks. Thanks for this article

Posts: 5

Re:Reply #2 on : Fri July 01, 2011, 09:24:28

Thanks, I'm glad you found it interesting. Yes, the woman who was helped with Gelsemium here also had episodes of dizziness, which I did not mention, as she put it down to the ground moving.

david

Posts: 5

Re:Reply #1 on : Fri July 01, 2011, 06:36:51

Interesting to read about this. Thanks for describing the fearful shock of Gelsemium. I haven't used it in this context before, only fear or anxiety with the lethargy & aches (& sometimes dizziness) so I'm glad to read these cases.